My Garden Blog: A website to document the challenge of growing a variety of perennials in a northern Canadian climate. I post plenty of pictures of my gardening projects and welcome comments. La Ronge, Saskatchewan is in Zone 1b (USDA zone 2a), sitting on the Canadian shield at 55° 06' N latitude, 105° 16' W longitude.

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Sunday, April 17, 2011

Planting Veggies and Ignoring the Snow

There was a mini snowstorm here this afternoon, but the only lingering snow is in shaded heaps leftover from winter snow removal. We don't ever hope for a snow-free April here, but I do feel a little more justified in my disgust when it snows in May, or June...or July.Does your police service include this kind of transportation?:I was proud that I held back on planting my vegetables until this last week, hoping that they don't get too big before moving outside. Looking at my seed hoarde, I think that most of my indoor-start seeds are now in the soil (okay, technically, they are in a soil-less seed-starting mix). The remainder will be seeded directly outside. Come to think of it, now is the time to put out the poppy seeds.Flower seedlings:I start most seeds in little pots under the humidity dome on the right. That tray also has a heating mat underneath it, which helps some seeds germinate. Once they sprout, I transplant them into the other trays. I am not transplanting the tomatoes or pumpkins though, so those ones get their own pots from the start. I have three shelves, each with 4 fluorescent light tubes (half cool white and half aquarium/plant tubes). The top two shelves are partially heated by the lights hung underneath them, so the orchids on the top shelf are pretty happy.

I am growing a plum heirloom tomato and Tumbling tom cherry tomato this year. That should be nice for fresh-from-the-patio eating. I also have some Small Sugar pumpkin seeds sown and under the lights. They have a season of about 100-110 days, which is longer than our frost-free season, so they must be started indoors.Tomatoes and other seeds awaiting germination:Junction of land with the ice road on La Ronge lake (now includes puddles) and our dog: Buds on a willow tree - sure sign of spring:

2 comments:

Looks great! We had a day of snowfall this week, too (northern BC) but thankfully it has mostly melted. I admire your restraint, holding off on planting veggies until now. I started in mid-March! I have three kinds of tomatoes sprouting, two peppers, cabbage, and some creeping phlox. Yesterday it was sunny outside, so I was moved to start gourds, squash, cukes, pansies, and poppies. Our little plant room is going to be completely taken over in a few weeks! *L* Worth it, though.

Nice to see how things are going up there. You are not alone! The snow has gone away here for the most part but the cold morning just takes the fun out of working outside. I have not started seeds yet for the vegetable garden but will begin this week I guess. It is getting so expensive to heat the greenhouse as we just have electricity as a means right now so I am not going there! And my basement is full of Edible Blue Honeysuckle seedlings and lily seedlings right now. Do you get to grow squash? I have seeds of Mandan Banquet which I could send you. We have one in the basement and it is still firm and this is a great tasting squash.